ICE-Protesting Students Invade, Cause Damage at Ohio Grocery; One Charged With Assault

An ICE-protesting student has been charged with assault and others could face charges, police say, after dozens of students left a southwest Ohio school to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and rushed through a local grocery store.

Lt. Emily Englebert, spokeswoman for North College Hill police, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 20 that a young female faces an assault charge for allegedly striking a man in the head during the Feb. 18 incident.

Additional potential charges against other participants could include theft and criminal damaging, Englebert said, but she was unable to release further information.

More American schoolchildren are joining protests against ICE, which is working to deport illegal immigrants nationwide, especially those with criminal histories.

Officers were called to the Kroger grocery store in North College Hill, which is near Cincinnati, at 1:40 p.m. Feb. 18 on a report of disorderly juveniles, police said.

A shopper at the store, McAdrian Martin, shot a video of the teens running through the store, creating commotion. The students came into the store “from all directions,” he said during an interview with WLWT-TV. Martin estimated there were about 50 students in the store. During the video, an unidentified female tells Martin that she heard the students say, “F. ICE.”

The group ran to the beer, wine, and alcohol aisles, and threw bottles and cans so high that some hit the ceiling, damaging it, Martin said.

Eugene Blalock Jr., superintendent of the North College Hill City Schools, commented about the footage Martin shot.

“This video is disturbing and the parents and families of these students should be embarrassed,” the superintendent wrote on a Facebook post accompanying the video.

Blalock added that school officials would work with the city police department “to identify these students so they can be held accountable for their disorderly behavior.”

Craig Chaney, interim police chief in North College Hill, issued a statement, saying officers were present during the North College Hill High School protest. They were tasked with ensuring safety of students, staff, and the public.

“While most participants complied with lawful directives, officers responded to reports of disorderly conduct and disruptive behavior inside the Kroger store,” the chief wrote in a Feb. 18 statement shared to Facebook.

The Kroger store is about an eight-minute walk from the school. No estimate of the amount of damage to merchandise or the store was available from police. The Epoch Times sought comment from Kroger Co., but received no reply prior to publication time.

Chaney said the city’s police “recognize that peaceful expression is a constitutional right.”

“Our department respects the rights of students and community members to assemble and express their views lawfully and peacefully,” he wrote.

“When actions moved beyond peaceful expression and began affecting public safety and private property rights, officers intervened to restore order,” the chief said.

Officers took action to protect students, employees, customers, and bystanders. They also used deescalation techniques to “prevent further conflict,” and addressed “any violations of law appropriately and professionally,” the chief said.

Officers arrested two students who were a part of the protest but were “wanted for a separate incident,” Chaney said, without giving further details.